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CELEBRATING Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday the beauty of different ways of dressing, different languages
dear Leigh, happy birthday to you! When Leigh Rawdon
and accents, different foods— it can really help you connect to
ORIGINALITY was a child, her mother threw her a dazzling Cinderella things that are different from your day-to-day life. You see things
birthday party. This was a party like no other. Her mother
in a new light.”
created colorful cut-out Cinderella invitations and even
dressed up like Cinderella for the party. Leigh’s mother Leigh and her cofounder decided upon Tea Collection for the
valued originality. “She very much honored any kind name of their company. “We wanted a name that would evoke
of work that was original.” Her mother made open-faced the values that we were trying to bring to life. When you drink
sandwiches with a mosaic of edible decorations and also tea, very often, you share a connection with someone else. Tea
creative wreaths to decorate their door. She encouraged the is something that is common in so many cultures around the
same kind of originality from Leigh. “If I were to write a paper world. It may taste a little different, have different flavors, but it
for high school, it could not be like anything anyone else all comes back to the same shared experience. It’s timeless. It’s
had ever written. I grew up in the 70s and 80s—well before popular now and it will be popular for years to come. And that’s
Instagram and Pinterest—so my mom found inspiration also an important value for us—sustainability. Tea, the drink,
entirely on her own. She didn’t do things the cookie reflects these values, so we named the company Tea Collection.”
cutter way. I had these values instilled in me through Kids are quite good at figuring out how to use what they
her example.” have to get what they need. Leigh credits this childhood trait
Leigh Rawdon is the founder and CEO of Tea Collection, of resourcefulness, combined with hard work and grit for the
a line of children’s clothing inspired by the cultures of foundational growth of Tea Collection. A combination of creativity,
the world. From the company’s beginning in 2002, it has empathy and hard work can result in an element of optimism. “You
grown into an award-winning fashion brand. Creativity, have to believe that it’s going to be OK. You have to have dreams
entrepreneurship and a deep respect and appreciation for to pursue and believe in yourself—believe you can get there.”
the vibrant and diverse cultures of the world have been the Leigh’s advice for you is to maintain and keep connections, and
secrets to her success. to find things to be curious about. “Staying connected to family

Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, she was a young and friends is essential—especially in times like these. And
entrepreneur, creating what we might today call the finding something to be curious about is also really important. I
“Door Dash of lemonade stands” as she ran around the think my generation thinks we should turn off the screens and
neighborhood delivering lemonade. She also sold tickets get out the arts and crafts, but we must be open to new ways of
and concessions to neighborhood plays she orchestrated. being creative with the tools and technology available today. Make
Leigh obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School. your own little iMovie! Let your brain get lost, in a beautiful way,
While there, she was mentored by academic, business solving how to make an audio file or create something with technology.”
consultant, and author, Clayton Christensen, who she Leigh champions originality and ingenuity. Experience has taught
recalls was “a magnificent thinker and a magnificent human. her that creative leaders possess resilience, grit, and empathy.
He instilled in all of his students the importance of Most importantly, she believes that everyone should be
approaching all people with humanity and respect, no treated with respect and humanity. “It’s important to be
matter the circumstance.” yourself and to be celebrated.”
Through her passion for travel, Leigh determined that it was
“deeply important for children, from the earliest age, to be
exposed to not only the world around them, but the world
beyond them.” She wanted to be a part of creating global
connections, and inspiring curiosity in the littlest citizens of
the world. She wanted to help people feel at home in more
places than their own hearth. “We are all just participants
on this planet. We need to treat each other as more
LEIGH RAWDON similar than different. Even when immersed in a part
of the world where everything may look, smell, or taste
FOUNDER + CEO different, at the core, we are all just people.”

TEA COLLECTION Leigh travels the world exploring cultures to find inspiration
for print, pattern and color for her clothing line. “Experiencing
SAN FRANCISCO cultures beyond your own helps you appreciate beauty—

LEIGH RAWDON CELEBRATING ORIGINALITY https://icaf.org